Al Jazira boss Henk ten Cate says Al Ain and Shabab Al Ahli Dubai have superior quality

Matt Jones - Editor 21:33 24/10/2017
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  • Henk ten Cate insists Al Ain and Shabab Al Ahli Dubai have better individual players than Al Jazira and that the Pride of Abu Dhabi need to harness the fighting spirit and camaraderie that earned them last year’s Arabian Gulf League title if they are to defend it .

    The Dutchman took umbrage with a question from an Arabic journalist following a 0-0 stalemate with in-form Al Wasl last Friday – a result that, while useful, means Jazira’s only victory in five AGL games this season came in a lacklustre 2-1 win against promoted Ajman on the opening day.

    Jazira and Ten Cate were compared to Bayern Munich and Carlo Ancelotti, who was dismissed by the Bavarian giants last month following a 3–0 away loss to Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League.

    After surging to the title last season, it was suggested that, like in Germany, Jazira had the best players and best coach in the AGL, so what has changed.

    “Do we have the best players? If you say this then you don’t have a clue,” barked the usually calm Ten Cate.

    “Because everyone knows we don’t have the best players. We have the best team and they work and fight. This is how we won the championship.

    “Al Ain and Shabab Al Ahli have better players than us. Look at the internationals at those clubs, who play for the UAE, it’s more than we have.”

    Jazira kept the title-chasing Cheetahs at bay and their formidable Brazilian trio of Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo and Ronaldo Mendes. Meanwhile, the hosts were without star striker Ali Mabkhout as well as fellow UAE forward Ahmed Khalil and French former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder Lassan Diarra – all injured.

    Jazira also lost centre-back Musallem Fayez to injury after 27 minutes and Ten Cate wondered how Wasl would cope with a similar epidemic.

    “We miss four players today. Take out Diarra, Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Khalil. Take out De Lima, Caio and Mendes from Wasl and what is left from Wasl?” he asked.

    “How can you compare me with Ancelotti. Do you know how many foreign players Bayern Munich have. They have 16 foreign players and four Germans. How can you compare me. I know what he’s saying but I don’t understand where he wants to go.

    “We are only allowed four foreign players. And the budget of Bayern Munich is €250-400 million. Our budget is 16 million Dirhams so I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”

    Ten Cate once again paid tribute to his numerous academy starlets, many of whom starred in last season’s title success. Khalfan Mubarak (22), Mohamed Jamal and Salem Rashid (both 23) were integral to that triumph.

    Salem Al Eedi (23), Mohamad Al Attas (20) and Eissa Al Otaiba (19) have also featured prominently in the early weeks of the 2017/18 campaign due to a plethora of injury issues for the champions – something that has frustrated Ten Cate.

    “You know how many young players we play with? It’s not a luxury,” he added.

    “Salim Rashid, Mohamed Al Attas, Eisa, Ahmed Al Attas, Saif Khalfan, Mohamed Jamal, Khalfan Mubarak, they still go to school each day or university so they cannot always train. We have a young team and that is irregular.

    “I’m trying to contact the national team because four players who joined in the summer all have muscle injuries.

    “We are in this situation and it’s difficult to get out of it. The only positive is we did not lose (against Wasl) and against a strong team, number one in the league.

    “And we had more chances, with them having everybody on board, they are complete.

    Maybe you should ask their coach why they didn’t beat us.”

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